Tina Abraham Broker, SRS, Realtor Wilmington North Carolina Real Estate

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connection

May 17, 2009

Summer sun and rainfall is what we have seen this week in Wilmington, get ready its time to break out your swimsuits!

Just want you all to know something fantastic has happened to me, I have returned to my real estate family at Coldwell Banker Seacoast, this is where I started my real estate career and am excited to be back and associate my business with the best real estate company in Wilmington!

This week there are 2842 homes on the market with 396 under contract thats 14%, it has definately picked up in the last 2 months. 476 properties have sold in the last 3 months and on average are selling 94% to their list price, not including the price range of $875,000 and above they are taking a bigger hit of about 90% of their list price. $250,00 and under are looking at an average of 4 months on the market. There are some great houses out there and with the low interest rates, dont take a chance and miss out.

until next week in The Week in Review

Tina

The Week in Review

....your Wilmington Connnection

March 8, 2009

Well it is inevitable that inventory has gone up with spring around the corner. We are up to 2758 houses on the market. The average list to sell price is down to 92%. 339 homes sold in the last 3 months. Currently there are 307 homes under contract. The price ranges from $450,000 and up are looking at single digit under contracts.

On the sunnier side it is absolutely gorgeous here in Wilmington, temperatures reached 72 yesterday and will be a bit warmer today. Wilmington is a great place to live. If you are thinking of buying in Wilmington drop me an email . Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sliding sales in Wilmington?

The number of area homes whose sales closed in January totaled 187, down from 307 a year earlier and 293 in December. The average price of a home that closed in January also fell, and was 22 percent lower than in January 2008 - $229,940 versus $295,582. That figure can reflect not only a drop in home value, but also a preponderance of sales at the lower end of the market.There are still challenges in our market, but there is still business to be done.

Housing Affordability

Housing affordability is at a record high - the buying power of a typical family has risen significantly. With the drop in interest rates, a median-income family can afford a home costing $20,000 more than a year ago for the same monthly mortgage payment. With the strong housing stimulus, we are hopeful inventory will get trimmed and which will help prices stabilize in many areas by the end of this year.

Housing Affordability Index rose 13.6 percentage points in January to 166.8, a new record high. The HAI, a broad index of affordability using consistent values and assumptions over time, shows that the relationship between home prices, mortgage interest rates and family income is the most favorable since tracking began in 1970.(facts and figures taken from NAR)

...until next week in The Week in Review

Tina

We all want a good deal. The way to get that better deal with real estate is to have a realtor in your corner negotiating your best interest.

The essential element that will help your realtor negotiate a better deal is having open communication with our and know what your expectations and needs are.

Your realtor is trained in areas of negotiation and if they are experienced in negotiations they know the signs that will lead them in to the acceptable agreement they are looking for.

Before your realtor makes any kind of offers on a piece of property they will make sure to have a Comparative marketing analysis completed so that they know what values are going on sales with homes currently.

It is naïve to think that the analysis is not necessary. The good realtors are aware that this needs to be completed, just as much as the home inspection ad appraisal.

The best deal is usually obtained through creative negotiation not under bidding. The deals are out there, but they can go sour in the time of a day or two. The better deal with less hassle is the way to look at getting the better deal. How your realtor presents the information on the offer and the home will make all the difference when it comes down to the price you will pay in the completion of the real estate transaction.

A good negotiator will know to watch for the open signals that people are ready to continue negotiating. Your realtor will be watching for these times. They will also direct you in the ways that you will be able to communicate with out jeopardizing the sale price you are looking for. They will also be able to open conversations that will let them know what circumstances are surrounding the sale reasons.

Your realtor will know to not use high-pressure tactics. It is important that both sides win. The ethical requirements of realtors are in place, however a good realtor will know what the difference is between manipulating and negotiating. Negotiating will make all parties happy, therefore creating a positive situation for a real estate transaction.

Another area that you will have a positive response from having a good realtor with fantastic negotiation experience is when the realtor has the ability to find out all the aspects of the property. This will make it so that you are well informed in the decision you are about to complete.

Another good negotiator will know whom they are negotiating with. Your realtor will have learned to pay attention to their audience. This means working with facts with the right people and emotion with the ones that require that type of communication for the most progressive deals.

Finally a good negotiator and realtor will have the best interest of you in mind. Even, if that means that they may loose a little in a deal from a smaller commission because they get a better deal for you.

Rules can guide people to stay in line, however it is the person who has the skills that works successfully in those lines to create the best circumstances for business transactions.

Trust in your realtor's negotiation skills. You have taken the time to find a good realtor, and letting them do their job is your end of the negotiations that will make it a winning situation all the way around.

There are five easy tips to finding great real estate listings in Wilmington North Carolina. Finding the perfect home is not always simple, however with the right tips it can be easier.

With all the homes available in Wilmington and the market going better there than most other towns or cities in the United States, the perfect home may go faster than you think. You need to have someone in your corner of the real estate market ring to help you sort through the real estate listings to find the home for you.

There are a few different ways to look for the listings that you might be interested in.

• First you need to decide on whether you are going to acquiring the service of a buyers agents, if you are going to be looking for a home through listings on your own, or if you are planning on going through negotiations with a realtor that handles both the sales and the purchases of the properties they are specifically hired for.

• When you are buying a home in Wilmington North Carolina, it is important to look at many homes, with different options, and different amenities. Therefore, looking at all the listings you can find is going to be an important step to finding the home that will fit the needs of you and your family.

• If you are searching through listing on your own, then you will need to set time away on a daily basis to look at all the new listings. Here is a list of sites that you can visit to help you have several options to start your search.

http://www.move.com/new-homes/wilmington_north-carolina/

http://www.relohomesearch.com/State.aspx?State=NC&SAID=23734

http://www.homegain.com/homes_for_sale/NC/hsx_state_page?entryid=6918&mod=1

http://www.mls.com/

• Another option for looking into homes available in Wilmington North Carolina is to look into the newspaper for real estate listings either on the Internet or in the paper form to see the newest homes that are listed that day.

• The easiest options, that is often times a more time affective and cost effective option is to hire a buyer's agent. This agent will research all the listings on a daily or weekly basis to look for the homes that fit into the criteria and needs of your dream home. Then the agent will email, or call you with the updated listings for you to view as soon as you can. This keeps you in the game almost up to the minute so that you can catch the great deals quickly. Your agent will also save you time from looking at homes that will not be what you want. They are usually used to the areas and are accustom to knowing what the neighborhood and community is all about.

As you are going through the listings available, you will want to search realistically in the areas and prices that will be within the amount you can qualify for. This means that you will want to get pre-qualified for an estimated loan amount, and then you will also need to decide on what kind of down payment you are wanting to put down.

When you are working with the options of purchasing the homes you are looking at, you will need to find out who is going to pay which fees. Keep in mind that often times the closing costs will cover the commission of the buyer's agent. So you can get help with the pre-qualifying, the negotiations, the searching, and the completion of the process and this is often time with little extra out of your pocket.